My Reading Running and Recipe spot, plus a Ten of the Best on the occasional weekend.

Friday, 23 October 2015

The Lake House by Kate Morton

Kate Morton is one of my favourite authors. When I picked up The Forgotten Garden (her first), I was hooked, and I didn’t stop reading until I was done with all her books. Books that restored my soul and love for a good story, and took me away for a while.

Her latest didn’t disappoint. At 595 pages, it is a gorgeous indulgence and a great way to spend a weekend.

The Lake House is a rambling story, set in the 1930s and the 2003s. Sadie, a Detective Constable, is staying in Cornwall with her grandfather, Bertie. She is recovering from a disaster at work, and part of her wants to hide, and the other to reclaim her job. She discovers an unsolved mystery that took place in the nearby Lake House. A little boy disappeared. Alice (AC Edevane, famous author) was there, but she is now 86, and what happened still haunts her.

Of course, the beautiful countryside and gorgeous old house take centre-stage. The imagery is outstanding. Spend a day or two in this whimsical landscape. Lie in the lush grass, feel the bees buzzing past and smell the mud that the dogs run in, as the dragonflies dart over the lilies on the lake. You won’t want to return to whatever your real life is.

Kate's website claims she “continues to write the sorts of books she can disappear inside”. She also says that she loved reading Enid Blyton as a child. Maybe that is why I like her so much. The Lake House is an engrossing read.

From my reading

"That's the catch about betrayal, of course: that it feels good, that there's something immensely pleasurable about moving from a complicated relationship which involves minor atrocities on both sides to a nice, neat, simple one where one person has done something so horrible and unforgivable that the other person is immediately absolved of all the low-grade sins of sloth, envy, gluttony, avarice and I forget the other three."

― Nora Ephron, Heartburn

Thanks for reading. While you're here, you may want to check out my favourite books of 2017